Racial Justice Mission Group

Mission Statement

The Purpose of the Racial Justice Mission Group is to awaken the NH Conference to issues of racial justice and equality within our churches, state, and country. We are called to be:

• LEARNERS in a community of mutual accountability studying the impact white privilege and the history of slavery has on racism; 
• INTERRUPTERS of the continued cycle of racism; and 
• ALLIES with People of Color in challenging race-based injustice in the areas of criminal justice, environmental degradation, economic deprivation, and exclusion from full participation in our communities of faith.

Learning & Planning:

At our monthly meeting at the Conference Center, the agenda includes learning, as well as, planning action steps. We organized years ago and welcome new members. Those interested should contact Chairperson, Rev. Dr. Dawn Berry, email dcbnh@comcast.net.

Resolution and Process Guide:

The Resolution of Christian Witness in Support of New Hampshire Conference United Church of Christ Congregations Awakening to Racial Justice, was adopted by the gathered body at the Annual Meeting, on October 20, 2018. The resolution was a call to the churches of the NH Conference to take action in undoing racism, including both individual acts of racial bigotry ans systemic racism.

To help churches "live in" to this resolution the RJMG developed a document on the Process of Becoming a Racial Justice Church for the October 2019 Annual Meeting. 

Not to be missed:

• How to be an interrupter - A white person's guide to activism
  By Aaryn Belter (From San Diego City Beat, July 20, 2015)
• How communities of color in NH are being affected by COVID-19
• Bryan Stevenson Changing America's Racial Narrative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzPUmQfo3B8
• Microaggressions Examples
• The national office of the UCC has excellent racial justice resources and curriculum.
        -White Privilege: Let's Talk - A Resource for Transformational Dialogue.
         This curriculum can be downloaded at: http://privilege.uccpages.org/
        -Sacred Conversations to End Racism is an online training program offered by the national staff
         to train racial justice trainers
        -All-church Book Read with Jennifer Harvey, author of "Dear White Christians"
• The NHCUCC One Conference: One Book initiatives have included "Color Me Included" by Rev. Deborah Knowlton and "Waking up White" by Debby Irving.

Trainings and Events:

• Save the Date: On June 21st we invite all NH churches to celebrate Juneteenth. RJMG is currently preparing worship resources for NH churches and they will be available soon. The RJMG will also offer an online celebration of Juneteenth on June 19th, a Friday evening. Juneteenth is a new NH state holiday and marks the day in 1865 that news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached the last slaves in Texas.
• Save the Date: On October 28th RJMG will provide Implicit Bias Training for Authorized Ministers, offered with leadership from Dr. Darnisa Jackson and Rev. Eric Jackson.
  
  

Look for:

• The Racial Justice Mission Group workshops at the annual Prepared to Serve conference each February. Workshop titles in the past included: White Privilege, Implicit Bias, Awakening to Racial Justice 101, Reparations, Beyond White Supremacy, Forgive Us Our Trespasses (About Microaggressions), Cash Value of Whiteness, and Building the Beloved Community.
• The Racial Justice Ministry Group also organizes sessions during the fall Annual Meeting when an opportunity arises, or a pre-Annual meeting event. In 2017 we held a full day workshop with Keynote Speaker Bishop Dwayne Royster.
• The RJMG, along with the NH Conference Clergy Support Ministry, sponsored Clergy Day 2018 featuring Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson on “Preaching Beyond Black History Month”.
• Members of the RJMG are available to offer training or to preach at your church. Contact Chairperson Rev. Dr. Dawn Berry for more information.

Members of the Group: Dawn Berry, John Gregory-Davis, Gail Kinney, Ethel McConaghy, Kira Morehouse, Kate Kennedy, Renee Rouse, Curt Springer, Alberta Wallace, and Harriet Ward.

 Download a flyer with this information.